Andy Kim can only remember talking to John Fetterman in person once. Their political styles and looks could not be more different: The Bunyanesque Pennsylvania senator who prefers hoodies and shorts is renowned for off-the-cuff comments and posting punchy political memes on X, while the three-term New Jersey Rep. Kim is a soft-spoken former diplomat who regularly shares wholesome photos of his young kids in Star Wars costumes or playing with Legos.

But despite their opposite demeanors, scarce interactions — and drastically different heights — Kim and Fetterman have become an unlikely pair tied by a mutual disgust for an indicted senator, Bob Menendez. In Kim’s heated Senate primary to replace Menendez, Fetterman became one of the most vocal outside voices on New Jersey politics. They can be considered Washington’s “Odd Couple,” and chances are they’ll be colleagues in the Senate next year.

“I don’t know why we’re odd,” Fetterman said at the Capitol. “We’re both Democrats. We both probably assume Menendez is a total sleazeball. And we’ll both be in the Senate. We seem to have a lot together in common.”

For someone who has made a career of defying norms, Fetterman has stood out as being the lone, non-New Jersey voice in the Senate routinely calling for Menendez’s resignation — rankling Kim’s home state colleagues. Fetterman aligned with the Garden State’s revolting low-level Democrats in the Senate primary by expressing distaste for New Jersey first lady Tammy Murphy, who he said relied partly on nepotism to try winning the nomination.

It all adds to the persona of an iconoclastic political figure who speaks his mind — whether anybody asked him to. Kim certainly didn’t.

“I don’t know him very well, but I certainly respect somebody who has that kind of confidence in who they are, their style, their approach. It’s not easy. Like so much of politics — there’s pressure to kind of conform on a lot of different levels. There’s pressure to not stick your neck out,” Kim added. “I hope to be able to get to know him better.”

That seems likely. Kim was considered the outsider in the race against Murphy but is now gliding towards the Democratic nomination after she dropped out in March. A Fairleigh Dickinson University poll this month showed Kim with a nine-point lead over Republican challengers after his chief rival for the Democratic nomination for Senate left the race.

Kim focused much of his campaign on making New Jersey elections fairer — specifically through tearing down its unusual ballot positioning that gives an advantage to institutional politicians. Known as “the line,” it puts candidates endorsed by the county parties in a row or column, giving enormous influence to chairs with ties to New Jersey’s political establishment.

In February, Kim filed a lawsuit against the line in federal court. And Fetterman was quick to support his efforts: “I thought Democrats were always against voter suppression?”

Kim said he had never spoken to Fetterman until Menendez was indicted. The first time they met was during a Joe Biden speech, when the significantly shorter New Jerseyan was seated behind 6’ 8” Fetterman — who was wearing a tall Steelers winter hat. “Of course they put the 5’ 6” Asian American behind John Fetterman,” he said.

The two lawmakers were first in their chambers to call on New Jersey’s senior senator to resign. Kim jumped into the race immediately after the indictment, and once the race heated up, Fetterman’s endorsement followed.

Early on, Fetterman was the lone Kim supporter from Capitol Hill — even as all of Kim’s colleagues from New Jersey took a pass, despite following Kim in urging Menendez to resign. The rest of the New Jersey delegation flocked to Murphy, who carried the heaviest backing of New Jersey’s political establishment.

“It’s a marriage of convenience,” Michael Sulieman, chair of New Jersey’s Atlantic County Democrats, said.

A lot has changed in the Senate race since Fetterman first put out his endorsement in January, when Kim looked like an underdog to Murphy. Kim’s lawsuit against the ballot positioning measure was successful for the June Democratic primary, Menendez is weighing a run as an independent and the political machine Kim and Fetterman criticized back in September appears to be crumbling in real time.

“It started with Senator Menendez and his criticism there,” Kim said. “But for a sitting senator to want to weigh in on this — I think that just kind of highlights and underscores sort of the intensity of this, this race and how much drama there is.”

New Jersey has a subtle regional rivalry with Pennsylvania, as it does with its other neighbors, New York and Delaware. But Fetterman has weighed in on the New Jersey Senate race as if it was his own state — something you don’t see from Chuck Schumer or from Biden when he was a senator. Fetterman often cites his own experience taking on a “New Jersey Republican,” a double entendre poke at Murphy, who was once registered as a Republican, and his former opponent for the Senate in 2022, Mehmet Oz, who had a New Jersey residence.

“Fetterman is making a bigger and bigger name for himself,” New Jersey GOP strategist Mike DuHaime said. “He’s quasi-local, so that endorsement certainly helped. It gave Kim some credibility.”

But other members of the New Jersey delegation weren’t as keen to Fetterman butting into the Garden State’s Senate conversation.

“I just think he needs to stay in Pennsylvania and take care of his own business,” Democratic Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman said at the Capitol.

“I wish he would spend more time worrying about winning Pennsylvania for Biden than worrying about our democratic state in New Jersey,” Rep. Mikie Sherrill said before Murphy dropped out. She previously endorsed Murphy.

No one in the New Jersey delegation endorsed Kim when he was up against Murphy. Originally, more members of the Pennsylvania delegation backed Kim than those from New Jersey did.

Fetterman and Kim said they look forward to working with each other in the upper chamber — where they may find they have much more in common.

“Maybe that’s the connection. Andy is an authentic guy: he’s a lovable guy, you kinda want to give him a hug,” Sulieman said. “Fetterman — he is very authentic. He dresses how he wants, he talks how he wants. He trolls people, he is not a polished politician.”

Sulieman added, “And over the years the authentic politicians have done well.”

President Joe Biden vowed last week that he would take another stab at trying to pass border security legislation that had been axed during negotiations over his foreign aid package.

It was news to those involved in the first round of negotiations over the bill.

Talks around resuscitating the bipartisan border compromise that senators struck in February have been nonexistent in Washington. And despite the president’s proclamation, administration officials and immigration policy experts both say it’s highly unlikely any legislative momentum for border security materializes between now and November.

“They pulled a rabbit out of a hat on Ukraine, but there’s no chance they’re getting anything out of Mike Johnson’s House on border security,” said an immigration advocate familiar with the White House’s thinking, granted anonymity to discuss private conversations with administration officials. “They’ve known that since December, when they realized they had to count votes in the House. There’s no chance of legislation on this, and they know that. It’s rhetorical posturing.”

Biden’s comments last week underscored the administration’s desire to try and turn the politics of the border — long an albatross for Democrats — into something more advantageous. After former President Donald Trump and Republican lawmakers tanked the compromise bill, the White House moved to put blame for the crisis at their feet. The president has openly weighed the possibility of taking executive action and, as he did upon signing the foreign aid bill, talked up the need to revisit the legislation.

“I proposed and negotiated and agreed to the strongest border security bill this country has ever, ever, ever seen,” he said last week, speaking about its exclusion from the foreign aid package. “It was bipartisan. It should have been included in this bill, and I’m determined to get it done for the American people.”

But, in reality, there’s been no behind-the-scenes jockeying from the White House to restart talks, in part because the White House believes that the migration crisis has temporarily stabilized, with illegal border crossings dipping again in March to 137,000.

While talks may be currently dormant, that doesn’t mean they can’t or won’t be restarted. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has a number of moderate members of his party up for reelection this year, some of whom are pushing for him to bring the bill to the floor again.

“We’re not leaving border alone, we’re going to come back to it,” Schumer said in an interview this week, echoing the president.

But another attempt at action in the Senate would run into the same hurdles as last time: Trump’s opposition and dim prospects in a Republican-run House.

“My colleagues said it wasn’t good enough. And then, our nominee for president said: I don’t want you to do anything because this is my best issue going into November,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell lamented last week.

That outlook, in turn, has left the White House weighing new executive actions, including restrictions on asylum. Administration officials have held a number of meetings on the new policies this week, spurring chatter that the announcements could be coming soon. But five people close to the administration, who were granted anonymity to discuss private conversations with administration officials, say the timeline remains murky. The White House is weighing both the political optics of moving forward unilaterally and questions about whether some of the actions it takes would pass legal muster.

“I think everything is in pencil,” said a former administration official. “Nothing is in Sharpie.”

The administration has been crafting an executive action that would include using a section of the Immigration and Nationality Act to bar migrants from seeking asylum in between U.S. ports of entry. Like the border legislation, the directive would likely be tied to a trigger, coming into effect after a certain number of illegal crossings took place, said the five people close to the administration. The order would also make it more difficult for migrants to pass the initial screening for seeking asylum, as well as ways to quickly deport those who don’t meet those elevated asylum standards.

Border crossings dropped by 50 percent in January and have since remained stable, creating a belief among administration officials that the president has more space to deal with the issue. Increased enforcement on the Mexican side of the border, which began after Biden administration officials traveled to meet with counterparts in December, has helped alleviate some of the political pressure in the U.S.

While it has been reported that the White House would make the moves by late April, it’s still expected that the administration will roll out the new policies when border numbers rise again.

“Because otherwise, it would be like a tree falling in the forest with no one to hear it,” said another advocate familiar with the White House’s thinking. “Unless something’s happening at the border, people don’t pay as much attention.”

In addition to combating political pressure on the right, some Democrats have also expressed concerns that Biden hasn’t done enough to draw contrast with Trump on the immigration issue. New polls have shown that voters prefer a balanced approach to the border — a mix of border security measures and actions that protect Dreamers and other immigrants who have been in the United States for an extended period of time. Along those lines, administration officials are discussing potential actions they can take for undocumented people who have long resided in the United States. One idea that has been floated among administration officials is opening access to the cancellation of removal program for people who have lived in the U.S. for over 10 years and have citizen or resident relatives who would “suffer” if they were deported. But the biggest debate is around whether or not Biden should provide temporary legal status and work permits to undocumented immigrants in the U.S. who are married to American citizens, an estimated 1.1 million people.

Immigration groups have been pushing the White House on this move, suggesting it could energize Democrats ahead of the November election, like former President Barack Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program did in June 2012. But there are also concerns among some administration officials that it could spur more political blowback on an already vexing issue for the president, particularly if border numbers creep up again.

“That’s where the conversation is probably being had most thoroughly is, ‘OK, is there a political consequence to this, or should we wait for a second term?’” said a former administration official. “It’s not like this idea has an expiration date. He could do this or look at it in the future, where the political space might be greater.”

Burgess Everett contributed to this report. 

Karen Pierce, Britain’s ambassador to the United States, told a Washington gathering Thursday night that she would “have to be dragged out of here by my fingernails.” That was a disarming quip for a crowd gathered to launch White House Correspondents Dinner weekend in the opulent gardens of the British embassy. It was, however, closer to the truth than Pierce’s cheery brand of diplomatic caution acknowledged.

Speaking about her time in office at a special recording of POLITICO’s Power Play podcast in front of a live audience at the embassy, Pierce refused to speculate about why an announcement of her successor, expected in senior diplomacy circles in both London and Washington this week, has not been made.

A convivial figure on the ambassadorial circuit in Washington since her arrival in 2020, Pierce judged her words carefully: “I think the next ambassador will arrive in early 2025, and I will stay till then.”

The uncertainty about who will next occupy the grand residence of 1300 Massachusetts Avenue is the result of a stand-off between British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak — who decided to appoint Tim Barrow, a career diplomat who has served in Moscow and as the top representee to the EU during Brexit — and the Labour party, which is likely to form the next U.K. government.

Officials in London and Washington have been riveted by the saga of a putative successor to Pierce. The current U.K. national security adviser, Barrow was slated to be announced as the winner of a swiftly conducted internal Foreign and Commonwealth Office contest for the plumb role, but so far there has been silence.

“All the signs were that this was about to happen,” said a person with knowledge of the process who was not authorized to speak publicly. “Then nothing. We were all very surprised.”

Sunak’s timely transition plan for the ambassadorship was intended to signal continuity in trans-Atlantic foreign and security policy, given uncertainty about implications for Ukraine and the Middle East policy depending on whether President Joe Biden or former President Donald Trump will be in charge when the newcomer presents credentials early in 2025.

Britain’s prime minister came close to confirming the intended appointment when questioned by reporters on a trip to Warsaw earlier this week, claiming that it was “entirely normal, entirely keeping with precedent” to appoint ambassadors well ahead of their start date to help them “acclimatize” and build relationships in their next job. He also confirmed that a successor in the national security role from the defense staff had been appointed.

But the opposition Labour party has objected to naming a new key envoy so close to a general election — likely to be held by the end of this year, and with the opposition party now far ahead in the polls. A person with close knowledge of the Labour party confirmed that there has been “consternation” at the move and argued that a significant post should fall within the remit of the incoming government.

The stand-off has led to speculation that Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, might even ask for the appointment process to be rerun if he becomes Britain’s next leader.

Asked if the handover was turning out to be unusually eventful, Pierce on Thursday deployed a wry guillotine. “The Foreign Office is very boring about two things and two things only,” she said. “One is that it does not reveal the contents of diplomatic conversations, and we don’t comment on future appointments.”

But she paid tribute to congressional leaders for supporting the passage of $61 billion in U.S. aid to Ukraine. The package, which was part of a wider raft of support for Israel and Taiwan, was signed by Biden this week. “The central message, which is going to give Ukraine a huge psychological boost,” Pierce said, “is that America is behind her, and Congress is behind her, and our will to support Ukraine is undimmed.”

“So, I salute the congressional leadership in the House and in the Senate on both sides … and it’s a collective expression of our determination to push back on President Putin’s ambitions.”

Asked about perceptions in Washington of the volatility in British politics in the last two years — including three prime ministers in the space of three months — the ambassador was diplomatic.

“There was a little bit of a wry smile on the faces of some American politicians when we had that quick turnover of prime ministers, because it’s not what you think of when you think of British politics,” she reflected. “On the contrary, you think of something solid that doesn’t change very much for years. But we’re through all that.”

Listen to Ambassador Pierce’s conversation with POLITICO Power Play host Anne McElvoy here:

TALLAHASSEE, Florida — Rep. Bill Posey (R-Fla.) abruptly announced on Friday that he will not seek reelection, after initially planning to run for another term.

Posey’s announcement — if made earlier — could have easily attracted a spirited Republican primary, with politicians from the state’s Space Coast region already eyeing the seat once Posey retired. Florida’s 8th congressional district is a solid Republican seat.

Instead the 76-year-old incumbent’s announcement came shortly after qualifying officially ended and after his hand-picked replacement — former state Senate President Mike Haridopolos — had already quietly jumped into the race.

In a statement posted online, Posey said that he was “looking forward to another spirited campaign for a final term in office. However, earlier this week circumstances beyond my control now require me to suspend my re-election campaign.”

Posey did not elaborate what caused his turnabout. He’s one of roughly two dozen Republican incumbents not returning to the lower chamber next year — all in safe seats — an unusually high number for a party in the majority.

“Without going into a lot of personal details, stars aligned during the past week and Mike decided he was ready for Congress,” Posey said. “I enthusiastically endorse him and will do everything I can to help him get elected.”

Posey, who had been in the Florida Legislature for 18 years prior to running for Congress in 2008, was a supporter of former President Donald Trump and usually stood aligned with the Republican majority. But he recently vote against the foreign aid package supported by Speaker Mike Johnson, and he also opposed reauthorizing a contentious surveillance program.

In his first term in office, Posey tried to pass a bill requiring that future presidential candidates produce a copy of their original birth certificate — a measure sparked by conspiracy theories surrounding President Barack Obama. Posey was ridiculed by late night comics for the move.

While he was in the Legislature, Posey was one of the main sponsors of the legislation that overhauled Florida’s voting system in the aftermath of the chaotic 2000 presidential recount.

Haridopolos — a former legislator turned lobbyist who served a two-year term as Senate president starting in 2010 — is one of three Republicans who qualified for the seat. But he will enter the contest with a likely advantage. Several top Florida Republicans — including Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis — have already endorsed Haridopolos.

The U.S. is putting the finishing touches on one of its largest Ukraine military aid packages to date, preparing to ink contracts for as much as $6 billion worth of weapons and equipment for Kyiv’s forces, according to two U.S. officials.

The package, which could be finalized and announced as soon as Friday, will dip into the $61 billion in Ukraine funding signed into law by President Joe Biden on Wednesday. It would include Patriot air defense systems, artillery ammunition, drones, counter-drone weapons, and air-to-air missiles to be fitted on fighter planes, according to one of the officials and a third person familiar with the planning.

The equipment likely won’t arrive in Ukraine for several years, as the money is being allocated under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which issues contracts to American defense firms to build new equipment for Ukraine, as opposed to drawing from current U.S. stocks.